Tank outlet valve and operating mechanism therefor



E. POSSON.

T ANK OUTLET VALVE AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR. APIPLICAT-ION FILED Aue.21, 1920.

1,426,008, Patented Aug- 15, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET- 1.

E. POSSON.

TANK OUTLET VALVE AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.27, I920- Patented Aug. 15, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. nnwsr p rosson, orrAiaxnrnen, ILLINOIS.

TANK curtain VALVE AND ornaarnv G MECHANISM THEREFOR.

Specification of Letters Pat entl Allgf. 1922 Application filed August 27, 1920. Serial Nd. 406,299.; v- 1.

Toall whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, EDWARD PossoN, a citizen of United States, residing at Park Ridge, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Tank Outlet Valves and Operating Mechanism 1 Therefor, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to-the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification. v

This invention relatesto improvements in tank outlet valve and operating mechanism therefor. v

One object of the invention is to provide 'a simple and efiicient outlet valve and operating mechanism therefor of economical manufacture and which is especially adapted for use on tank cars.

1 More specifically, the object of the inven-.

tion is to provide an operating mechanism for tankcar outlet valves wherein are employed an operating handle and cooperating parts so associated that the operating handle will automatically positionitself in inoperative position when the outlet valve proper is closed and a locking device will come into action to insure maintenance of the operating handle in said position.

' Other objects of the invention will more I clearly appear from the description hereinafter following. i

In the drawings forming av part of this specification, Figure 1 is a vertical part sectional, part elevational view of the central portion of a tank Car showing my improvements in connectiontherewith. Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the upper end of the valve rod or shaft showing the details of the operating handle lock and immediately associated parts. In this view the full'line position of the handle corresponds to its operative position and the dotted. line position corresponds. to the inoperative or locked position of the handle. Figure 3 isa. top plan view of the parts shown in Figure 2. In Figure 3 the full line posi tion of the handle corresponds to the opera tive position thereof, that is, when the valveof the car illustrating the construction of the valve proper and dischar'ge'outlets.

I have shown vmy improvements as es-j pecially. a daptedfor a railway tankcanfor the reason that the improvements possess special utility in this connection but it Will be understood by those skilledin'the artthat the'invention is susceptible to use in other fields-without departing from thespirit of the invention.

In said drawings, 10 denotes the tank of f the usual tank car, the same having a dome 11 on the top thereof with aremovablecap 12 of any well known or desired form. The

tank is of course filled through the dome11,

the upper portion of the tank having an opening 13 therein located centrallyofthe dome 11. The discharge or outlet ,valvem proper is located at 1 the bottom of the tank as indicated at A.

Said outlet or dischargevalve, as bestindicated in Figure 5, comprises a castingv lt which forms the .valve casing said casting it having a laterally extended flange 15 secured to the lower main tank sheet of the tank, the. valve casingbei-ngkextended upwardly. through an opening in said tank sheet as clearly shown inFigure 5. The valve casing has diametrically; disposed openings 16-16 in the sides; thereof: with which are adapted to register correspond ingv openings 17 inthe valve, plug 18. v The exterior surfacevof the plug 18 and the interior surface of the valve casing are "machined to thereby providea tight seal,.said 7 machined surfaces; being. tapered downs wardly as indicated in Figure 5. The bottom end: of the plug 18 isopen as indicated at 1 9 so maths, contents: of thei-tankare adapted to discharge; into the outlet pipe 20;, whichpasses-downwardlybetween-the center.

sills ofthe car. The upper end of the valve casing. has applied thereto, cap. plate .21 by means of bolts 22 or other; suitablefas-t,

tening. devices, there being a ,spring 23. in-

terp osed between said cap- 121 and the tophof the valveplug 18. With this'construction,

it is obvious; that the spring 23normally, en erts a pressure downwardlyx on the valve plug ,to. maintain the latter. proper relation withtheyalv casin'g;

The outlet'p1pe20is secured tothe-valve casing 14 by a plurality of bolts 24: which pass'through perforated earsv 25 on the outlet pipe 20, the head s of the bolts 24 being hooked over slotted lugsj26 on the bottom of the casting 14. Only one of such bolts is shown in Figure 5 but it will be understood that several of the same will be employed uniform in spacing around the outlet pipe. A lead or other suitable sealing gasket 27 may be employed between the opposed faces of" the outlet pipe and the casting 14. The bottom of the outlet pipe 20 is exteriorly threaded as indicated at 28 to adapt the same for connection with a pipe when the tank is discharged. It frequently occurs that connecting pipes for discharge are of different diameters and in order to adapt the tank car for connection with such different sized pipes, ll employ what may be termed a reducing union 29 having the upper flange 30 thereof of sufliciently enlarged diameter to fit over the threads 28. Said union 29 at its lower end is exteriorly threaded indicated at 31 so as to adapt it for the reception of a sealing cap or nut 32. A lead or other suitable material seal 33 may be employed between the union 29 and the bottom edge of the outletpipe 20. In order that the reducing union 29 may be detachably held in operative position while at the same time made easily displaceable without danger of loss,

I employ the following arrangement. The outlet pipe 20 is provided with a plurality of radially extended sets of spaced ears or lugs 34 within one set of which is pivotally attached a link 35. The lower end of the link has an elongated slot 36 through which extends a pin or rivet 37 carried by a pair of radially extended ears or lugs on the union 29. To the other sets of cars or lugs 34 of the outlet pipe are plvotally attached tightened on.

With the construction described, it is obvious that a pipe corresponding in diameter to the diameter of the lower end of the outlet pipe 20 may be used when the union 29 is dropped down out of the way or a pipe of smaller diameter may be con nected to the threaded portion 31 of the union 29 upon removal of the cap 32. The arrangement is simple and there is no danger of the reducing union becoming lost or misplaced or any of the parts immediately associated therewith.

The, plug 18 has riveted or otherwise rigidly'secured thereto an operating shaft or rod 41 which extends upwardly through a suitable bearing provided therefor in the cap plate 21 and through an opening 42 in the upper sheet of the tank and within the dome 11'. Secured to the top side of the upper tank sheet is'a casting 43 having a the tank sheet. Said casting 43 has an up- 49 and within the slotted portion is pivotally connected an operating handle 50 by means of the rivet or pin 51. As will be clearly seen from an inspection of Figure 2, the handle 50 may assume either a hori zontal position or a downwardly inclined position.

At its inner end, the handle 50 is formed on the under side thereof with a depending hollow lug 52 having a fiat inner face 58 adapted to ride upon the inclined arcuate surface 54, formed'on the hollow boss 45. By referring to Figure 4, it will be seen that said hollow boss is provided with a recess or notch 55 of a size and shape to accommodate said hollow lug 52 on the handle when the handle assumes the dotted line position shown in Figure 3. In this position of the handle, corresponding to the dotted lines of Figures 2 and 3, it is obviousthat the valve rod 41 cannot be rotated and the openings 17 in'the valve plug are made so that the same will be out of register with the openings 16 of the valve casing when the operating handle is in said dotted line or inoperative position.

Due to the fact that tank cars are subject to constant jarring and vibration, it is extremely desirable that the operating handle be prevented from becoming accidentally moved during transit of the car in order to avoid any possibility of the discharge Valve accidentally leaking. It is furthermore desirable that the means for retaining the valve operating handle in such closed position operate automatically or in an automatic manner and to this end, I provide a locking plate or latch 56 which is pivoted as indicated at 57 within the upstanding bridge piece 58 made integral with the casting 48. Said latch or locking plate 56 is adapted to swing downwardly, under the influence of gravity, through a slot- 59, in

the top wall of the casting 58, so as to engage the upper side of the operating handle 50 and positively lock the same in its depressed position, as indicated by the dotted line position of said latch in Figure 2. When it is desired to release the handle 50 in order to open the valve, the latch 56, will be lifted upwardly by oppositely extended finger holds 60 provided in the top edge of the plate.

The notch 55 in conjunction with the handle 50 will obviously determine the closed position of the discharge valve and upon moving the valve to open or discharg- 7 ing position, the handle 50 will swing to the full line position shown in Figure 3 and corresponding limiting stops or lugs may be employed on the valve plug 18, and valve casing 14, one of said lugs being indicated at 61 in Figure 5. v

I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred manner of carrying out the invention, but the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In combination: a tank having a dome; of an outlet valve at the bottom of the tank including a rotatable valve plug; an operating rod extending from said valve plug into the dome and rotatably mounted; an operating handle disposed within the dome and mounted on said rodvto swing vertically with respect thereto and to drop under the influence of gravity; a fixed memher having an arcuate cam surface approximately concentric with the axis of rotation of said rod, said member having also a shouldered notch therein and the handle having a portion thereof adapted to enter said notch when the handle drops under the influence of gravity, said portion of the handle riding upon said arcuate cam surface during the opening and closing movements of the valve plug; and means for holding said handle in its lowermost position with said portion of the handle in said notch to thereby prevent rotation of the rod accidentally,

2. In a tank outlet valve mechanism of the character described, the combination with a vertically extending rod adapted to actuate the valve proper upon rotation thereof; of a member rigid with said rod and extending laterally therefrom; an operating handle pivotally attached tosaid member and adapted to drop from a horizontal operating position to a downwardly inclined inoperative position, under the influence of gravity; and a cam-lock movably mounted on said member and arranged to 1 tion.

3. In a tank outlet valve mechanism of the character described, the combination engage and cooperate with said handle to hold the latter in lowered inoperative posiwith a vertically extending rotatablymounted valve-operating rod; of a member rigidly secured to said rod and extending laterally therefrom; an operating handle pivotally attached to said member and adapted to swing vertically; a recessed and shouldered plate disposed beneath said member and upward movement when the'ha-ndle is engaged with said recessed portion of the plate. v a

4. In a tank outlet valve mechanism of the character described, the combination with a vertically extending rotatable valve operating rod; of a relatively fixed plate adjacent said rod and having a shouldered notch radially arranged with respect to the rod, said plate having also a concentrically arranged cam-like surface; a member fixed to said rod adjacent said plate extending radially from the rod; an operating handle I pivotally attached to said member and adapted'to swing vertically and to fall under the influence of gravity, said handle having a depending lug near its pivotal support adapted to fall into said notch andalso to ride upon said cam-like surface; and a gravity-controlled pivoted latch mounted upper side of the handle and'lock the same when positioned in said notch.

In witness that I claim thefore oing I on said member arranged to engage the have hereunto subscribed myname t is 12th 7 day of August, 1920.

EDWARD POSSON. Witnesses:

Jnssm I. MiLnER, EDNA C. FIsonnR. 

